Brentford – a Waterway Town! a Way Forward for the Thames Corridor in Brentford
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Brentford – A Waterway Town! A way forward for the Thames Corridor in Brentford Thames Landscape Strategy in Action To build an accessible, well designed and connected riverside, that enhances Brentford’s established character as a historic waterway town - a place to live, work and visit. Draft Scoping Report for consultation and Consideration May 2009 1.0 Summary Brentford is a bustling centre with many historic associations. – significantly it is one of the UK’s most important canal junctions and one of the best remaining clusters of water-based activity in the capital. Between Kew Bridge and Syon Park, the Rivers Thames and Brent meander through a ‘lost’ landscape of wharves, disused docks, boatyards, creeks and islands where water-based industry has flourished for hundreds of years. What is more remarkable is that this gritty landscape is located immediately opposite the Kew Waterway industry Gardens World Heritage Site and directly between the major attractions of Strand on the Green and Syon House. The river corridor itself provides a remarkable place for a range of wildlife to flourish particularly on the riverbanks and islands The post-war decline in water based transport and London’s industry however, left many areas derelict and in need of considerable improvement. Over the past decade the town has seen much regeneration. Former industrial sites have been regenerated creating new riverside parks, towpaths and open spaces. Syon House Unfortunately the regeneration process has been piecemeal with no clear plan for the riverside, the towpath or waterspace. This has left out many spaces that remain poor and in need of considerable enhancement whilst in other locations the Thames path deviates from the river forming an unwelcoming and illegible route. With this in mind, the Thames Landscape Strategy worked closely with the London Borough Of Hounslow in the production of the Brentford Area Action plan that sets out a way forward for the town which makes specific reference of the TLS as the means by which many of the action plan’s aspirations for the river will be addressed. The River Brent ‘Brentford a Waterway Town! is a new project initiated by the Thames Landscape Strategy to find ways of implementing the Brentford Area Action Plan to conserve, open up, restore, enhance and celebrate the remarkable watery landscape between Kew Bridge and Syon Park. It identifies a series of potential projects that are based on a sound understanding of the established character, anticipating future regeneration opportunities (particularly the land south of the High Street) proposing additional measures that would complement this exciting process to the parks, gardens, waterspace, and towpaths along Brentford’s waterways. The project makes considerable cross-river references – proposing new ways to connect the communities and heritage of Kew and Brentford. In this way the opportunities that Brentford’s position (immediately opposite the Kew World Heritage site) can be extended to the town including joint promotion of attractions, enhanced transport links, a restored ferry or footbridge and access to funding for a range of projects. Waterman’s Park 3 The proposals set out in Brentford – a Waterway Town! have been designed to ensure that the water based industrial character of the canal junction is conserved and can be weaved into the urban grain of the town as an integral element – rather than an after thought. The project proposes ways to considerably improve the connections along and across the Thames Path and for the regeneration of small public open spaces to take place. Ways to improve wildlife habitats are outlined and many measures to realise the town’s potential as a visitor destination in its own right are established. Finally, the scheme sets out a way forward to engage with the community to find new ways of involving local people in the future of their riverside – so critical for the long-term success of any such project. 2.0 The Thames Landscape Strategy The Thames Landscape Strategy (TLS) is one of three sub-regional partnerships for the River Thames in the Greater London area whose focus is the river corridor between Hampton and Kew. Launched in 1994, the Strategy is a 100-year blueprint for the Thames, whose vision is to conserve, enhance and promote for the future, one of the world’s great urban landscapes. To achieve its aims, the Strategy brings together a partnership of statutory and non-statutory organisations, local groups and individuals to inform strategic policy and to implement a broad range of projects and management proposals totalling (to date) £15m. 3.0 Background – the Established Character Brentford is one of the UK’s most important waterway junctions and is one of only two gateways to the canal network in London that link the River Thames with the rest of the country via the Grand Union (which follows the course of the River Brent in its lower reaches). Historically the town developed because of its position at the confluence between the Thames and the River Brent, the settlement becoming the administrative centre for the County of Middlesex in the 18th Century. Brentford’s fortune and character were intrinsically linked with the river firstly through market gardening on the fertile river gravels and later due to the important inland port that developed at the strategic river junction. The area quickly industrialised with a variety of river related industries clustered along the River Thames, the River Brent, the Grand Union Canal and the railhead (now forming the Brentford Dock estate). With the nationwide decline in heavy industry much of this activity has gone particularly along the Thames and is now either lying derelict or has been replaced by housing or municipal parkland. Different aspects of the River Brent At the junction of the Grand Union Canal however, water based at its junction with the Thames industry and infrastructure has survived remarkably intact although its nature has evolved from freight transfer to boat construction and 4 repair. As such, Brentford is one of the most complete surviving working canal junctions in London – a real cluster of water based employment, expertise and industry set within a landscape of moored boats of all kinds. This water based employment cluster has a gritty character – a series of small ‘cottage’ industries – a wonderful reminder of London’s industrial past. Brentford is set within the context of the Arcadian Thames – a remarkable historic landscape un-equalled in any other capital city in Europe. The essence of Arcadia is the ‘countryside in the city’ a place where humans and nature can get close to each other – set within a wider designed landscape of parks, palaces and gardens. Although gritty and industrial, the human scale character of Brentford’s riverscape lends itself ideally to this landscape – a fascinating backworld of creeks, boatyards and industry. Situated opposite the world famous Kew Gardens UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Brentford riverfront boasts splendid views across the Thames to Kew Palace. The Brentford Ferry once connected the gardens with the town although this amenity has now long gone. Upstream of Brentford is Syon House, the London home of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, the house contains one of the finest Robert Adams interiors in the UK and the Capability Brown landscape is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest being the only natural riverbank left along the Thames in Greater London. The wildlife that flourishes on the Syon flood meadows extends into the Brentford area - Lots Ait and the Brentford Ait both provide the habitat for an interesting range of wildlife including nesting birds, bats and the endangered German hairy snail. Willow, black poplars and alder line the riverbanks and even seals have been known to bask in the sunshine on the river gravels that form at the mouth of the Brent. Downstream of the town is Strand on the Green arguably one of the most picturesque locations along the River Thames containing many fine buildings and waterside pubs. From here, the Thames Path follows the course of the river passing through Watermans Park – a peaceful haven on the banks of the Thames (constructed on the site of a former waterside gas and coke works). The Thames Path turns at the Ferry Point up the River Brent. From here the walker can continue on the Thames Path towards Syon Park and Richmond or deviate along the Grand Union Canal to Ealing and beyond. Despite the strategic importance and economic potential that these long distance footpaths could bring to Brentford, the path in many places has to deviate round former industrial locations and in other sites is un-welcoming, of a poor design and does not conform to access standards. Brentford town centre has an interesting mix of shops, civic buildings and pubs. Of particular note is the Butts that date from the town’s 5 grandest years, when shops as fine as any in London lined the High Street. The Butts is a street and square of red brick houses developed from the 1680s, that was once the town’s market place. Near-by at Brentford Lock, a redundant industrial site has been redeveloped along the Grand Union Canal to form an attractive riverside quarter of housing, hotels and offices. Along the Thames, the successful Ferry Quays re-development has transformed the area opening for the first time new stretches of Thames Path. There is however, still considerable scope for the regeneration of Brentford with many more sites due to be developed over the coming years including the Land South of the High Street, Somerfield’s and the Scottish Widows site near to Kew Bridge. 4.0 Brentford a Waterway Town! - Project Vision To build an accessible, well designed and connected riverside, that enhances Brentford’s established character as a waterway town - a place to live, work and visit.